The Miller Center is a nonpartisan affiliate of the University of Virginia that specializes in presidential scholarship, public policy and political history and strives to apply the lessons of history to the nation’s most pressing contemporary governance challenges. more →

Welcome to the Miller Center

From presidents Carter, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush.

Long considered in American politics to be above partisanship, foreign policy decisions today are commonly utilized as political assets or avoided as electoral liabilities. In some cases, particularly when American troops have been deployed, they have defined elections. Partisanship has also proved itself to be an effective tool in shaping foreign policy decisions through advocacy or opposition. The Reagan administration governed during a period of major global change, yet the relationship between partisan politics and foreign policy during the 1980s remains unclear. This session will explore the reciprocal links between politics and policy during the Reagan years, and the impact of this relationship on future administrations.

Chair: Julian Zelizer, Professor of History and Public Affairs, Princeton University

Downloadable Content

Panel Two: The Reagan Defense Buildup and Its Effects

At its two extremes, the defense buildup initiated during the Reagan presidency has been credited with winning the Cold War and condemned as a wasteful enterprise responsible for generating record budget deficits and making negotiations with Soviet leaders even more difficult. The impact of the buildup was far reaching – on the domestic side, it required additional spending during a time of rising deficits and sparked a spirited debate both in Congress and amongst the electorate; on the international side, it set a new tone for U.S. power and shaded America’s diplomatic efforts and military actions. Many of these debates have lingered to the present day as scholars and policymakers continue to assess both the immediate and long-term impacts of the buildup.

Thomas Blanton, Director, National Security Archive, George Washington University

Eliot Cohen, Robert E. Osgood Professor of Strategic Studies and Founding Director of the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University

Beth Fischer, Professor, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto

Downloadable Content

Panel Three: Reagan and the Global Democratic Movement

The collapse of Soviet power took place at the end of the “third wave” of global democratic expansion. This trend, sparked by successful democratic transitions in Portugal and Spain in the mid-1970s, flourished during the Reagan years in many corners of the world, including Latin America, Asia, Africa and Central Europe. The extent to which the policies of the Reagan administration set the conditions for – or even promoted – the continuation of this trend is a matter of great debate, one which is further complicated by varying policies toward different nations and regions, tensions between democratic advocacy and other national interests, and changes in strategy during the course of the Reagan presidency. This session will assess how the administration navigated these issues, and to what extent their efforts impacted future presidents’ strategies for democratic expansion.

Chair: Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution; Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University

John Negroponte – U.S. Ambassador to Honduras (1981-85), Mexico (1989-93), the Philippines (1993-96), the United Nations (2001-04) and Iraq (2004-05); deputy national security advisor (1987-89); Deputy Secretary of State (2007-09); Director of National Intelligence (2005-07)

Downloadable Content

Panel Four: Reagan and the Rise of Global Capitalism

The economic policies of the Reagan administration initiated a marked shift toward free-market capitalism in the United States. While the merits of these policies continue to generate thorough debate among scholars and policymakers, the consequences on the American economy are well known. In contrast, the impact of these policies on the international economic landscape, particularly the global trend toward capitalism, has earned far less review. This session will examine the effects of Reagan’s economic policy on areas such as globalization, economic growth, deregulation, and debt, and the derivative impacts on American prestige and the global balance of power.

Downloadable Content

Panel Five: Reagan and International Institutions

The U.S. held a largely utilitarian view of international institutions during the 1980s. The Reagan administration’s avid defense of national sovereignty caused relationships with legal bodies like the International Court of Justice and institutions of global governance such as the United Nations to vary between uneasy and contentious. In contrast, interactions with regional alliances such as NATO or multilateral treaties like GATT were conducted on more favorable terms. The degree to which the United States supports or opposes such institutions has always weighed heavily on their ability to conduct business. This session will examine the Reagan administration’s policies toward various international institutions and the ramifications of these policies on international norms and regimes, and future U.S. presidents.

Chair: Zalmay Khalilzad, President, Khalilzad Associates; former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (2007-2009), Iraq (2005-2007) and Afghanistan (2003-2005)

Panelists:

Barry E. Carter, Professor of Law and Director of the Center on Transnational Business and the Law, Georgetown University Law Center

Kim R. Holmes, Vice President of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies; Director, Davis Institute for International Studies, The Heritage Foundation

John B. Bellinger III, Adjunct Senior Fellow for International and National Security Law, Council on Foreign Relations; Partner, Arnold & Porter, LLP